Friends of Marple Memorial Park Task Days
The Friends hold regular task days in the park on the last Saturday of each month in the winter and the middle and last Saturday from March to November. Everyone is welcome to join in for as long or as short they wish during the specified times. Please note that children and young people under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
If you are interested becoming a volunteer with us please get in touch and we will add you to our Task Day notifications.
We like to keep a record of what we get up and here are details of past task days.
Task Day 11 March 2014
"Incredible Edible Marple" Task Day with M.E.S.S.
A special task day was held with Marple Energy Saving Strategy (M.E.S.S.) to kick off their "Incredible Edible Marple" Project by planting 20 Wild Harvest tree saplings provided by the Woodland Trust in the park. These comprised a mix of Hazel, Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder and Dog Rose, some of which can be harvested for jams or left to feed the local birds and wildlife.
We also (eventually) reinstalled a picnic bench that had previously been taken out for repair after vandalism - this "small job" turned out to be more difficult than expected due to one of the existing bases being big enough to build a small house on!
Task Day 22 February 2014
A great turnout of volunteers got loads done in the park despite the ground still being too wet to work on the main flowerbeds. Crocuses, Daffodils and Snow Drops are all starting to show and the Park is getting ready to welcome the spring!
Successes included a major revamp of the over-grown shrub bed in from of the Scout Hut with Pyracantha and Holly shrubs. Look out for more planting here soon. There was a good tidy up of the Cinema Bed at the main entrance to the park, to the ones in front and to the side of the Senior Citizens' Hall and we finished off pruning of the Shrub Bed near to Charlies' Bandroom too.
We also started our programme of bench maintenance with the application of Green-Away to many of them and painted the Jubilee Crown, which is in the process of being repaired after vandalism last year. Finally, feed was hoed in around the new War Memorial Beds rose hedge too. A very good effort, well done everyone!
Task Day 25 January 2014
The first task day of 2014 was a fairly quiet start to the year but we were pretty lucky with the weather and got a fair bit done. The park was very wet so we concentrated on areas that we could reach from the paths. The Infants Play Area has a good tidy up, the shrubs and beds around the Council Offices and along the path heading towards the Charles Ingham Bandroom were also given a good prune back. There are lots of bulbs appearing already and we're looking forward to a park in bloom again!
We also had a photo-call with Councillor Iain Roberts, who presented us with a cheque for £200 from the Council's WWI Small Grant Scheme. This grant covers the cost of the red roses that we planted around the War Memorial flowerbeds last year and is the first award of its kind in Stockport for projects that commemorate the 2014-2018 WWI Centenaries. We are very proud to be the first group in the borough top be awarded one of these grants and we are looking forward to the roses that we have planted developing into a Red "Rose Wall" hedge over the next few years that will bloom between June and November.
Task Day 22 January 2014
A special task day was held in the park on Wednesday 22 January when some lads from David Lewis came along with Terry, one of our volunteers who works there. The lads came to help fit bars to several of our ground sculptures that had been pulled out by vandals so that they can be reinstalled in the park and also to fit some brackets to the legs of one of our picnic tables that was vandalised too. They did a great job and left the place much tidier than it was before they came, so thank you lads!
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Task Day 30 November 2013
Fantastic weather for probably the last formal task day of 2013 - and what a busy year we've had!
Today the Diamond Jubilee Bed was fully replanted with perennials that we hope will put on a great show of colour outside the library next year and for many years to come. Earlier this week the skateboard wax was blasted off the coping with the Jet Washer that we won in the Karcher Cleans Britain competition in June this year and in the near future we will be installing skate-stops to prevent it from being abused in this way again.
Leaves were cleared from the car park, around the library, the Breathing Places Area and the Infants Play Area. The Play Area flowerbed and the toilet bed were given a good tidy-up and more perennials planted in these beds and at the War Memorial.
In the meantime, others were re-installing some of the ground sculptures that had been pulled out by vandals and several others have been removed so that they can have new rods inserted before they are found in the canal too. We've also removed one of the picnic benches because it has been damaged by drug-users. This will be re-installed after we've repaired it.
Marple Allotment Association members were very busy today installing a paved pathway alongside their adopted bed using surplus slabs that we obtained for free from Etherow Park. This is in preparation for the extremely popular Allotment bed, which has been one of 2013's great successes, to be doubled in size for next year.
Task Day 09 November 2013
Today's special task was to ensure that the War Memorial and Ornamental Flowerbeds looked their best for the Remembrance Service tomorrow. We also planted 20 additional rose bushes around the rear borders of the Memorial beds. These are part of our "Rose Wall" hedge and were replacements for those that didn't take when planted in the spring / early summer.
Marple Allotment Association were in attendance and tidied up their Allotment bed too. The Ian Rice Bench down by the canal entrance was also sanded and treated and this means that every single wooden bench in the park has now been refurbished, replaced or maintained by Friends of the the Park.
